DALAI LAMA

UNFAIR COMPARISON BETWEEN LEADER, POPE

The Dalai Lama is the King of Tibet and the head of the Tibetan Government in exile in addition to being an "ordinary monk." As the King of Tibet, the Dalai Lama is afforded the standard protocol for visiting heads of state, just like the queen of England. The Dalai Lama is respected and welcomed as a head of state worldwide, except at the U.N. and in China.

The Dalai Lama is not like the pope; he is not the head of the Buddhist church; Tibetan Buddhism isn't organized like that. Unlike Christianity and other organized religions, there isn't one single head of the church.

The Dalai Lama's message is a universal message of peace, loving kindness and compassion. This message has gained support from Islamic, Jewish and Christian religious leaders worldwide and is in harmony with mostly all religious traditions.

On Maui, the Dalai Lama publicly praised the belief in God, pointing out the social and individual benefits coming from the belief in God held by the various religions.

Pope John Paul II in all his interfaith meetings with various Buddhist religious leaders supported this message of peace, loving kindness and compassion. Shouldn't we?

DRUG TESTING

DRUG USE BY TEACHERS IS ALL HYPE, NOT REALITY

To all those who are fooled by the state administration's calling for drug testing of all our public school teachers: Wake up.

There is absolutely no evidence that even one Hawai'i public school student has been harmed either emotionally or physically by a teacher allegedly under the influence of, or possession of, illegal drugs.

Additionally, there is not one documented or otherwise proven incident of a teacher selling or providing drugs to a student.

So where is the threat? Politics and hype, you might say. If Governor Lingle and company were really concerned about the safety of our keiki, then random drug and alcohol testing of all licensed drivers would make more sense.

MONEY FOR DRUG TESTS BETTER SPENT ELSEWHERE

The people are missing the point of Lee Cataluna's column on May 6.

I have been an art educator for more than 30 years, and yes, teachers work 40 to 60 hours per week. Teachers are highly educated people and dedicated to their careers.

So instead of wasting money on drug testing, maybe lower class size to 18 students, or provide more money for supplies or more money for after-school activities that would keep the children off the streets, where the drugs really are.

NOT MILITARY

PRIVATE TESTER NEEDED FOR DEPLETED URANIUM

In response to The Advertiser article by William Cole ("Depleted uranium a Cold War leftover," May 11):

An independent private contractor must be assigned to conduct the depleted uranium tests in Hawai'i, not the U.S. military.

It's amusing to hear the state health department's statement that their DU tests have never discovered DU fragments. The public must remember that the state health department was the only entity to vote against the DU bill during the last legislative session.

Having the U.S. military and the state health department conduct the DU tests in Hawai'i is like allowing the Bush administration to conduct the tests.

EMS WEEK

REMEMBER LIFESAVERS OF EMERGENCY CREWS

Throughout the state of Hawai'i and the United States, May 20-26 will commemorate Emergency Medical Services Week.

Quoting Dr. Brian Keaton, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians:

"The EMS Week theme for 2007 is 'Extraordinary People, Extraordinary Service.' This slogan celebrates the exceptional service being provided to countless patients every day, often under incredibly challenging circumstances.

"It illustrates the fact that EMS providers are dedicated to saving lives and limiting suffering, even if that requires personal sacrifice and risk. They are selfless professionals who put their own lives on hold, day after day, to respond to the emergency needs of others."

The City and County of Hono-lulu Emergency Services Department's Emergency Medical Services Division provides quality emergency medical care and services to the residents and visitors on the island of O'ahu. Currently there are 18 Advanced Life Support Paramedic ambulances and two Single-Paramedic Rapid Response vehicles responding to the 911 calls for help.

Please join us at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Honolulu Hale for the Mayor's EMS Week Proclamation. Get to know your City and County of Honolulu EMS paramedic professionals. We are there for you 24/7.

HALLORAN

TERRORISTS AND PIRATES? DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE

In his column ("Piracy's down but vigilance still required," May 6), Richard Halloran says that the possibility of cooperation between pirates and "terrorists" in the Malacca Strait has lessened. He uses as a baseline Adm. Thomas Fargo's December 2005 statement: "Our greatest fears are the possible nexus between terrorists and weapons of mass destruction and the use of a large commercial vessel (hijacked by or with the help of pirates) as a weapon."

But there never was much possibility of such a nexus. "Terrorists" and pirates have different motivations and goals. The motivation for pirates is greed, while that for "terrorists" is political or religious.

The possibility of a nexus was hyped by the U.S. and Singapore to try to persuade Malaysia and Indonesia to allow U.S. and Singaporean warships to enter their waters to guard against pirates and "terrorists."

The scenario of a nexus was then picked up and sensationalized in superficial writings by irresponsible journalists. This eventually resulted in the Malacca Strait being declared a "war risk" area by Lloyd's of London, which, in turn, led to increased insurance rates for ships using the strait — ultimately passed on to consumers.

But the charade backfired. Malaysia and Indonesia were not fooled and instead deeply resented this perceived attempt at manipulation. Now they are very suspicious of similar U.S. overtures and initiatives.

The lesson for the U.S. government and military is that it cannot treat other countries like subservient fools without serious consequences.

O'AHU'S TEENS SHARE VIEWS ON RECYCLING

I'm so impressed with our youth and wanted to share this with your readers. Last Saturday was the sixth in the mayor's series of community meetings on recycling, and on this day Mayor Mufi Hannemann invited our island's youth to gather at 'Iolani School to engage in discussion with him, city Environmental Services staff and our solid waste consultants.

The turnout outdid the other meetings. Attendees represented 'Aiea High School, Damien School, 'Iolani School, Kaiser High School, Kalaheo High School, Leilehua High School, Le Jardin Academy, Maryknoll School, Mililani High School, Punahou School, Radford High School, Sacred Hearts Academy, the University of Hawai'i and Hawai'i Pacific University. And they all wanted to learn more about our next directions in managing O'ahu's 'opala.

The students came with fresh perspectives and were keenly aware of their role as tomorrow's leaders. Their questions were intelligent, and their thinking was outside the box. Isn't it fabulous to know that young minds are engaged and focused on such important issues?

The last community meeting on recycling is scheduled for next week, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Kapolei Hale.

And again for our youth, the third annual Discover Recycling Fair will be held Sept. 20-22 at the Blaisdell Arena. We are currently taking reservations for city-sponsored field-trip buses. Check it out at http://opala.org.